1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a body fluid-absorbing article. More particularly, it relates to a body fluid-absorbing article which possesses a highly satisfactory ability to absorb and retain body fluid and a notably improved capacity for absorption enough to give comfort to the user and, therefore, finds utility in such sanitary articles as disposable diapers and sanitary napkins.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, in the field of body fluid-absorbing articles such as disposable diapers and sanitary napkins, those using so-called absorbent polymers as an absorbent medium have come to find general acceptance. Since these absorbent polymers are generally in the powdery form, they are fixed in the absorbent media of body fluid-absorbing articles as nipped between sheet-like substrates of fibrous pulp or paper or as incorporated in fibrous pulp. In the body fluid-absorbing articles using the absorbent polymers in the manner described above, there arises the problem of leakage because the absorbent polymers are fixed so infirmly that the absorbent polymer gels produced after absorption of body fluid are suffered to gather locally or slide out of place.
Recently, to take the place of such powdery absorbent polymers and body fluid-absorbing articles using such absorbent polymers, an absorbent composite obtained by applying to a substrate a water-soluble monomer capable of being converted into an absorbent polymer and subsequently polymerizing the monomer (Japanese Patent Laid-Open SHO 57(1982)-500,546 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open SHO 60(1985)-149,609) and a body fluid-absorbing article using this absorbent composite as an absorbent medium (Japanese Patent Laid-Open SHO 62(1987)-170,247) have been proposed. Though the body fluid-absorbing articles using this absorbent composite are capable of preventing the absorbent polymer gels resulting from the absorption of body fluid from the unwanted movement, they are incapable of fully manifesting the ability of absorption of the absorbent component, highly uneconomical, and unsatisfactory in terms of capacity for absorption.
An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a novel body fluid-absorbing article.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a body fluid-absorbing article which has no possibility of entailing the unwanted movement of an absorbent polymer gel produced in consequence of absorption of such body fluid as urine or menstruation and possesses an outstanding ability to absorb and retain the body fluid